strengthening those who strengthen others

My best advice in 6 words

Of all the pieces of leadership advice I received, there is one 6 word phrase that had the biggest impact – ‘you get what you settle for’.

Quite simply, if you settle for less in your personal life, career, education or sports; then don’t complain about getting less. It may sound harsh, but after reading all the fluff on New Years resolutions and ‘how to be a better you in 2016’, I felt compelled to dish out a dose of reality.

The fact is most of the stuff you complain about is your fault.

Here are 7 examples that may ring true:

At work two of your staff do your head in by continually fighting. Ask yourself, what bad behavior did I ‘settle for’ in the beginning which makes them think they can act that way? What behavior did I condone by not dealing with it initially? Can you recall the first time they argued and what you did about it?

My team mucks around at training and they are hard to coach. What behavior did you let them get away with at the start of the season? Why didn’t you set the standards from day one? If you don’t set standards, you can’t complain when they aren’t met.

I am sick of people always turning up late. What did you do the first time somebody turned up late? Probably nothing right. You settled for lateness so don’t complain when lateness is what you get.

I am sick of being overlooked for promotions at work. Have you gone and asked what you have to do to get one? Have you put pressure on your Manager to up skill you so you don’t miss out next time? Have you settled for poor leadership by your Manager? If so then don’t complain, do something about it.

I always get overlooked for a spot on the senior team. Is it because you ‘settle’ for doing the same training as everyone else; being as fit as everyone else? What would happen if you didn’t settle for your level of fitness and became fitter than the others? If you’re not doing all you can to get picked then don’t complain when they don’t pick you.

There is one dysfunctional team at work that is holding us all back. Are you going to settle for them being the same in 2016 as they were in 2015, or are you going to do something about it? Which behaviors are you no longer going to tolerate? Do you have the leadership skills to bring the team together? If not, then how are you going to develop them?

My sales team don’t make enough calls. Is that because you settled for them making less, and even made excuses for them such as ‘it’s tough out there at the minute’. If you really need them to make more calls then what are you going to do about it?

These are just a few examples of the myriad of things we settle for in our personal and professional lives. The key is to understand the correlation between what ‘we settle for’ and ‘what we get’.

If you settle for the same things in 2016 then you will get the same things you got in 2015 – its that simple.

Addressing issues such as these can be tough. If you would like some help with these and other issues, please don’t hesitate to give me a call on 0408 151 134 or through my web site Nathan Burke Consulting. We have a range of team building, leadership and mentoring programs that can be catered especially to your individual needs….and especially for those who want more in 2016.